MacLachlan & Donaldson would like to alert all clients and associates to the latest alert from the EUIPO. There is currently a new misleading invoice in circulation, which takes the form of a fake EUIPO decision. We would urge all users of the EUIPO to be vigilant about any communication regarding decisions and payments which [...]
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate, several consumers have resorted to bulk-buying everyday products to avoid taking frequent trips to the supermarket. Others have chosen to do their shopping as swiftly as possible, taking the least amount of time, rushing to get back to their homes. As the demand for food and household products [...]
Trade Mark owners, once they receive their Certificates of Registration, are always advised to police these rights to ensure that these rights are not diluted by a third party using or attempting to register a confusingly similar trade mark. It can be daunting if one receives a cease and desist letter from a larger firm threatening proceedings [...]
MacLachlan & Donaldson are proud to share that Denis McCarthy, Director and European Patent Attorney, has been elected to the Council of the European Patent Institute (epi). Denis has been a full member of the Council before and we are delighted that he has been elected again by his fellow Irish Patent Attorneys. As described [...]
The European Patent Office (EPO) has recently issued a decision on its approach to patent applications that designate artificial intelligence (AI) systems as inventors. In January 2020, the EPO published its reasons for refusing two patent applications where the inventor named on the applications was an AI system called “DABUS”. What did DABUS “invent? The [...]
We are excited to announce that we are hiring at MacLachlan & Donaldson. We are actively recruiting both a patent attorney and a trademark attorney. Patent Attorney For the patent attorney role, the candidate should ideally be at PhD-level in a disciple related to Electronics and/or Computer Science. You should be a qualified or part-qualified [...]
As you may or not be aware it is possible to register a slogan as a trade mark. What brought this to mind in the last few days is the fact that we here in Ireland have just had a General Election and unlike many other countries in Europe we do not have many restrictions [...]
Brands, often referred to as trade marks, are those signs which identify one company’s products and services from those of their competitors. They can consist of words, logos, slogans, colours, noises, gestures, smells or a combination of these things. Brands can be a company’s biggest asset; in 2018 Interbrand valued Apple’s brand at over US$214,480 [...]
Do you know what you can register as a trade mark? What makes a good trade mark and how can you try to choose a good one from the beginning of your business endeavours? A trade mark can consist of words, letters, numerals, colours, designs, the shape of goods or of the packaging of goods [...]
Last week we shared information with you about how to identify and protect your trade secrets. This week we want to share more practical steps you can take within your business to increase the chances of confidentiality on trade secrets. To recap, a trade secret is something that is not known or capable of being [...]